Influencer
LahibMK On The Balance Of Creating Arabic Content On A Canadian Algorithm
Who is LahibMK
The youngest Lebanese male comedian in North America, Lahib is a Canadian/Arab influencer with a unique and inspiring story and talent, allowing him to dominate his niche and build a career in content creation in less than a year.
Aside from content creation, LahibMK is a full-time student with ongoing entrepreneurial endeavors and a hectic schedule. Known for the fake immigrant accent and his skits with popular influencer Maya Hussien, Lahib is also the founder of LahibLandscaping.
Read along as we interview Lahib and learn more about his career as a Canadian-based Arabic content creator.
Why Lahib chose content creation?
In the interview, LahibMK explained, “I’ve always managed to make even the most boring of stories funny; I have a natural talent for delivering an engaging message that I discovered through everyday conversations with my family.”
Starting off, Lahib always knew he wanted to share some form of content with the world; he just didn’t know what it was.
“I thought I was going to miss the opportunity to grow my TikTok account when covid was over; everyone I knew on TikTok made it big during the pandemic,” says Lahib.
The urge to start and uncertainty about what to create led Lahib to start shooting his first clips of what he knows best, storytelling!
Since starting his Tiktok career in August of 2022, Lahib has reached a weekly viewership of 5.5 million and has 172.7 k followers on TikTok.
Why Arabic content?
Growing up as a Canadian Arab, LahibMK recognizes the niche’s lack of entertaining content and engaging personalities.
“He explains, “Many in North America are from an Arab background but do not practice their language, or may not even know how to speak it, and that’s where my acting skills come to place. My comedy bridges the gap for mixed race and English-speaking Arabs.”
Lahib elaborates on his point and adds, “It’s true that the spoken language is Arabic, but the way I deliver it with facial expressions and acting is thoroughly communicated even if you don’t verbally understand me. Some of the most common comments are: I don’t know what you’re saying, but I think I can relate.”
Another reason his content is in Arabic is to teach viewers a few words while following along for laughs, giving viewers more than one reason to follow and interact with his videos.
Where do you want to take your influencer career?
With things quickly taking off and his excellent acting skills, Lahib wants to take things further to become an actor. However, these are not only wishful statements from the influencer, as Lahib is working tirelessly to make these dreams a reality.
From interviews with various talent agencies to considering a few brand deals, Lahib is strategically planning his rise to the top.
Coming up With Content Ideas
Coming up with ideas is not a separate task for Lahib, as it is always in the back of his mind throughout his day as a student and business owner.
By incorporating moments of his everyday life, funny stories from friends, and spontaneous ideas, each video made is a hit and helps push forward with his influencing career.
Despite the creative process coming naturally, Lahib dedicates a time frame of 30 minutes per day to sketching out his ideas to their fullest.
“Every day is a busy day for me,” says Lahib. “I strive for quality continent, but there is a certain level of energy I have to dedicate to other daily tasks to keep this going. I do not think of it as a job at all. Instead, it’s more of a how can I make people laugh today kind of situation.”
What is a burdensome job for many creators, flows effortlessly for Lahib, as his mind is always in the game, a life hack and lesson for every creator.
What’s the best part of being a creator?
According to Lahib, the best part of being a creator is People’s love. The influencer says, “Many people seek love even without content creation; it’s the circulating energy that inspires us to become better people and creators.”
He elaborates, “The love I get from followers is my only drive. In Canada, we do not get paid to create content by TikTok; I do it for the positive energy I reciprocate.”
This wholesome cause inspires the creator to keep going and pushes toward improvements in all areas of his personal life.
Brand Collabs and Partnerships
To Lahib, history, and values are the main determining factor when signing deals or collaborating on a campaign or skit.
He points out, “It’s easy just to do it for money, but how does the brand’s history reflect on me as a creator striving for what’s beyond sponsorships?”
Tips for Aspiring Creators
Tips from Lahib for Arab content creators include:
1- Do not incorporate profanity:
Going viral in a different cultural setting is easy by including vulgar language in your videos. Still, it will harm your potential as an Arab influencer long-term by limiting your targeted demographic.
2- Prepare to receive hate and criticism from your closest people
“The hate you’ll get when you’re still growing your audience will often be from the closest people, and you need to find peace with it, or else you won’t go far.” Isolate your social media character from who you are in real life, and once you gain your social proof from the internet, even haters will conform and become avid fans.”
3- Find the right time to post
Through testing different posting times, you will find the perfect hour when your targeted audience is online. Lahib includes, “I found that the best time for me is 2:00 pm; everyone around the world is awake and probably on their phone; I am committed to posting at 2:00 pm every day, and so far, it has served me well.”
Round up
Lahinb, unlike creators competing for an oversaturated market, found a niche of his own through his personal experience growing up. The gap his content bridges competes for with little to no creators, as he tailors to a medium that appeals to both North Americans and Arabs but is targeted more towards North American Arabs.
The balance of creating content that can be understood by anyone can sometimes be tricky, but it works for him and similar creators. The lesson we take from our interview with Lahib is that as a creator, you must master deliverance, and only then will you be able to hit so many birds with just one stone.
